Financial Security

     Financially secure is not to be rich or wealthy, it is to have enough money to live comfortably and be able to look into the future and know that you have enough money to live reasonably well without worrying about paying the bills even if they go up. 

          HOW TO BE FINANCIALLY SECURE

     To become financially secure, you must have enough sources of money to "finance" your lifestyle. The money comes from:

                   1. Your job and any business(es) you have "on the side".

                   2. Rental income [check with your landlord before renting out a spare bedroom].

                   3. Equity loan from your house or condominium.

                   4. Savings. Get on a regular savings plan. Quit bad habits and save the money.

                   5. Credit cards [only for emergencies].

                   6. Investments [use banks that give high interest rates, also invest in the stock market &  mutual funds].

                   7. Health insurance [Qualified Health - $90/mos. individual and $120/mos. for families; see www.Qhealth.com ]

                   For The Retirement Years:

                   8. Have home paid off, no mortgage.

                   9. Pension [if your job has one associated with it].

                  10. Social Security [if you worked enough "quarters" to get it - 1 quarter is 3 months in a row. You MUST have 40 quarters to qualify to get S.S. at 62, 66 or 70 [40 quarters in a row would be 10 years straight]. The amount you get depends on how much money you got paid. If you take it at 66 you will get more than if you take it at 62 (and more if you take it at 70)].  Your employer pays 1/2 of your social security payment and you pay the other 1/2 as deductions from your paycheck [w-2 form gives # of deductions]. Self employed people pay 100% of their S.S. payments [they fill out a Schedule SE form to figure out their S.S. payments that they pay as part of their IRS taxes every year].

                    11. You can still work part time after you sign up for S.S. but there are rules for how much you can make without reducing your benefits. After 66 you can make as much as you like while still collecting S.S. See a book on Social Security from www.amazon.com.

                          12. Rent out a spare room or basement.

                     13. Get a reverse mortgage, when you are 65. Most banks handle them. You get a monthly amount that is based on the FMV [fair market value of you home at the time] for a certain number of years [15 years] and then after that you get to live in it until you die [check with the bank if you can do so, otherwise you're "out on the street"], but the bank owns it entirely and you can't leave it to your children unless you pay off the mortgage.

                    14.  If you qualify for social security then at 65 y.o. you get Medicare. This pays for doctor visits and medicines. Contact Social Security at least 3 months before your 65th birthday to sign up [contact S.S. at least 3 months before you sign up for S.S. benefits as well]. Contact the Social Security Administration at your local S.S.A. office or on their website: www.ssa.gov

                BE AWARE OF THE TAX (IRS) ISSUES AND THE LEGALITIES INVOLVED WITH THESE SOURCES.

                           G  R  E  A  T      L  I  N  K  S  :

                     www.ingdirect.com (Ing Direct Bank has a 4.5% online savings account)    www.emigrantbank.com (Emigrant Bank has a 5% online savings account

            www.rsal.cz (Royal Savings And Loans offers CD's with up to 7.5% interest    www.irs.gov (This is the official IRS site where you can download forms and instructions and applications for a job with the IRS  

            www.yahoofinance.com (This is the Yahoo finance site that gives you info on stocks, dividend stocks and mutual funds and lets you set up a practise portfolio to see if you can pick the right stocks to make some money on the stock market  www.clearstation.com  (This is like the Yahoo site, set up a practise portfolio here too)  www.money.com (This is a great site for all sorts of info about student loans, mortgages, interest rates, stocks, etc.

            www.scottrade.com (Buy or Sell stocks and keep them on a portfolio and get info on the stock companies all for $7 / trade. This is a good price compared to many such companies).  Feel free to try the links you see on the websites above, maybe you can find other websites of interest to you. WARNING: Stocks can go up or down and you can make $$ or lose it. Companies can go bankrupt or lose investor support and you can LOSE YOUR MONEY.